How old before shooting 12 gauge? - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

MikeWaters · 01-07-2008, 04:29 PM

I'm thinking 14 is the youngest I am comfortable with.

What is your opinion?

I'm talking about kids that have never shot a shotgun, and have probably only shot a rifle once or twice under supervision.

Jeff Lebowski · 01-07-2008, 04:54 PM

That sounds about right.

SeattleUte · 01-07-2008, 05:19 PM

Probably girls could do it at 12. They're so much more mature than boys at that age.

bluegoose · 01-07-2008, 05:30 PM

We've always started the boys on a 12 gauge at 14. The 11-13 year olds could shoot either a 410 or maybe a 20 gauge, depending on how big they were.

MikeWaters · 01-07-2008, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluegoose

We've always started the boys on a 12 gauge at 14. The 11-13 year olds could shoot either a 410 or maybe a 20 gauge, depending on how big they were.

can you realistically shoot clays with a .410?

smokymountainrain · 01-07-2008, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I'm thinking 14 is the youngest I am comfortable with.

What is your opinion?

I'm talking about kids that have never shot a shotgun, and have probably only shot a rifle once or twice under supervision.

Mike, I (and my brothers as well) started hunting upland game with a 12 gauge at age 12 and I see no reason to deviate from that with my own kids. As a matter of fact, my most successful bird hunting season, even to this day, was when I was 13.

That said, you mentioned kids that have never shot a shotgun and have little or no experience with guns, that could be different. It's hard to say. There was no question I was ready at 12, but then I'd been around guns my entire life.

smokymountainrain · 01-07-2008, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

can you realistically shoot clays with a .410?

yes.

MikeWaters · 01-07-2008, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smokymountainrain

yes.

have you done it? yahoo answers says it is very difficult to hit clays with a 410 because of the small pattern.

creekster · 01-07-2008, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

have you done it? yahoo answers says it is very difficult to hit clays with a 410 because of the small pattern.

I did it all the time with my .410 when I was a kid. The size of the pattern depends on the choke, of course, but mine was a full choke and I used it for shooting hand launched clays.

As to the thread query, it would depend primarily on how big the kid is, not his age.

MikeWaters · 01-07-2008, 07:42 PM

I was thinking about buying a $120 Rossi combo .22 / .410 single-shot, so that the boys could use it. I'm not likely to buy a 20 gauge.

01-07-2008, 04:29 PM	#1
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	How old before shooting 12 gauge? I'm thinking 14 is the youngest I am comfortable with. What is your opinion? I'm talking about kids that have never shot a shotgun, and have probably only shot a rifle once or twice under supervision.

01-07-2008, 04:54 PM	#2
Jeff Lebowski Charon Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the heart of darkness (Provo) Posts: 9,564	That sounds about right. __________________ "... the arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr.

01-07-2008, 05:19 PM	#3
SeattleUte fairlds.org Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 10,665	Probably girls could do it at 12. They're so much more mature than boys at that age. __________________ Interrupt all you like. We're involved in a complicated story here, and not everything is quite what it seems to be. —Paul Auster

01-07-2008, 05:30 PM	#4
bluegoose Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,919	We've always started the boys on a 12 gauge at 14. The 11-13 year olds could shoot either a 410 or maybe a 20 gauge, depending on how big they were.

01-07-2008, 07:42 PM	#10
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	I was thinking about buying a $120 Rossi combo .22 / .410 single-shot, so that the boys could use it. I'm not likely to buy a 20 gauge.